About the course
This course is for midwives, birth attendants and doulas, attending physiological birth at home or in low-resource settings. Whether you’re just starting out or deepening your practice, you’ll learn practical responses to real-life situations when mother or baby may need attention.
A course grounded in traditional midwifery, modern first aid, and deep reverence for physiological birth.
A non-judgemental, home birth–friendly learning space for birthkeepers from around the world to come together, share wisdom, and prepare for the unexpected.
Gain practical tools, deepen your confidence, and learn to respond with calm and care when mother or baby need attention.
Hello and Welcome!
My name is Ruth Ehrhardt and I am a mother, traditional midwife, and birth attendant from South Africa.
A little bit about me and the BIRTH FIRST AID COURSE:
My experience with dealing with emergency situations comes from growing up on a farm where we had no electricity or hot water, were far from anything (an hour’s drive from the nearest town on a very bumpy dirt road), and had to learn to make a plan in all sorts of situations.
My experience with Birth First Aid comes from attending births at home, which, mostly, were smooth and went well but I have had to learn to think quickly on my feet when a baby has struggled to breathe, a mother has lost more blood than she should, or a baby has gotten stuck at the shoulders whilst being born.
I am also a facilitator and Master trainer of Helping Babies Breathe and Helping Mothers Survive – two modalities for supporting mothers and babies at births in low resourced settings. I spent some years volunteering for Operation Smile’s Education Missions in African hospitals teaching these two courses.
This course has developed from these different experiences as well as the wonderful midwives, doctors, doulas, birth attendants, birthkeepers and of course, the mothers, babies and families who have been my teachers on this path.
Course Format & Flow
📅 Live Zoom Call Schedule
We will gather live on Zoom for six group calls to deepen our learning, share experiences, ask questions, and explore demonstrations together.
🕚 All sessions take place from 11:00 – 14:00 SAST (South African Standard Time).
You can check your time zone here for the first session on 3 March 2026.
Get a taste for the video presentations in this course
WHAT WE WILL COVER IN THE COURSE:
Helping Babies Breathe and Helping Mothers Survive philosophy
Creating and maintaining the basic needs of the mother and baby in an emergency situation
How to create an emergency care plan (without it causing too much adrenaline!) and support transfer to the hospital
Helping babies who are struggling to breathe at birth
Dealing with more than normal blood loss after birth
Preventing and dealing with shoulder dystocia
Cord Issues
Surprise breech
Herbs and homeopathy to support the above
Storytelling, sharing, and learning from one another’s experiences
Our own recovery (mental, emotional, and physical)
Creating a support network
Death, loss and Disability
The course is free birth supportive and friendly and open to
ANYONE attending births at home in ANY capacity.
The course is a popular and a rich learning space for the diverse groups of people who have attended the workshops.
📍 Course Call Dates
Session 1 – Tue 3 March 2026 – Opening Call & Preparation for Birth
- Orientation and introductions to the course and facilitators
- Getting to know one another
- How to be prepared for birth & appropriate planning
- Understanding birth physiology & realms of normal vs pathology
- The foundation and importance of protecting and guarding birth
- Basic skills and tools
Session 3 – Tue 17 March 2026 – Supporting Newborn Transition After Birth (continued) & Bleeding After Birth – what is normal and when do we step in?
- Continue with newborn transition support
- Introduction to bleeding after birth
- When bleeding is normal vs when intervention is needed
- Stories, examples, and questions
- Demonstrations if required during the live session (most demonstrations available in learning platform videos)
Session 4 – Tue 24 March 2026 – Bleeding After Birth (continued) & Introduction to Shoulder Dystocia, Cord Issues, and Surprise Breech
- Continue with bleeding after birth
- Introduction to shoulder dystocia, cord issues, and surprise breech
- Stories, examples, and questions
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Demonstrations if required during the live session (most demonstrations available in learning platform videos)
- Session 5 – Tue 31 March 2026 – Consolidating Birth First Aid
- Opportunity to consolidate course content
- Sharing stories and examples
- Questions and group reflections
- Demonstrations if required during the live session (most demonstrations available in learning platform videos
Session 6 – Tue 28 July 2026 – Closing Call
Final gathering to discuss, share, and answer questions
- Reflection on learning journey
- Course officially closes after this session
This schedule serves as a guideline. We will follow it as closely as possible, while also allowing space for what naturally arises in our group process. This course unfolds with and for the people in it.
What's Included?
Pre-recorded video sessions
Real-life birth scenarios and demonstrations
Downloadable PDFs
Access to replays and course content for 5 months
Lifelong access to resource folder
Optional reflection questions and journal prompts
Community comment section and support
Example Curriculum
Get a sense of what we will be exploring together over the 4 months together:
- Welcome and Thank you! (5:34)
- PROFESSIONAL AND MEDICAL DISCLAIMER FOR THE BIRTH FIRST AID FOR MOTHER AND BABY COURSE
- Welcome Message from Michel Odent (6:12)
- Orientation to the Teachable Platform, our Workshops and Communication
- IMPORTANT LINKS FOR OUR COURSE
- Introducing Your Facilitators
- Grandmother Blessing (7:18)
- My Personal Experience of Birth First Aid (17:05)
- Introductions and Intentions (8:08)
- Creating our Learning Container
- The Thinking Environment (15:17)
- Thinking Pairs (10:42)
- Confidentiality
- BEFORE WE BEGIN! Let us look at the Foundations of Birth First Aid
- The Basic Needs of the Labouring Woman as the Primary Preventative Measure in Birth First Aid
- Prevention and Preparedness
- A note on HBB and HMS (Bleeding After Birth)
- Creating a Birth First Aid Plan (9:32)
- Birth First Aid plan for Primary Caregivers
- Birth First Aid Plan for Birth Assistants
- Birth First Aid plan for Doulas
- Birth First Aid plan for Birthing Families
- Creating an Oxytocin Rich Environment (19:31)
- Hand Washing (6:26)
- Tools for Birth First Aid (36:30)
- EXERCISE: Being Prepared (13:15)
- The Wedding Night - Michel Odent
- The Performance: Sex Like Birth (7:29)
- Emergently - Sister Morningstar
- Birth First Aide - Jane Hardewicke Collings
- Preparation of the Birth Room - Practical Skills Guide
- Birth Supplies - Hesperian Foundation
- The Midwife's Kit list - Heart and Hands
- The Well Organised Birthkit - Regina Gillette
- Questions to Ponder and Explore
- Resources for this Module
- Session 2 Zoom Call
- Introduction to this Module
- Breathing In, Breathing Out (4:27)
- BIRTH STORY DISCLAIMER
- My Personal Experience of Helping Babies Breathe (57:37)
- First Steps of Helping Babies Breathe (7:05)
- Observing the Baby (3:28)
- A Note on Meconium
- Maintaining the MotherBaby Dyad
- Supporting a Baby who is Struggling to Breathe (29:04)
- SKILLS: Clearing the Airways, Checking the Baby's Heart Rate (FHR) and Cutting the Cord (11:56)
- Homeopathic Remedies for Helping Babies to Breathe
- EXTRA LESSON: Chest Compressions (3:41)
- Birth Song/Poem
- Helping Babies Breathe support material
- The Baby - The Hesperian Foundation
- Adept Baby Crafted for Survival - Dr John Stevenson
- From Womb to Room Air - Sister Morningstar
- Lung Transition for Baby
- Anne's Birth - Spiritual Midwifery
- Asphyxia in the Newborn - Spiritual Midwifery
- Glossary - Helping Babies Breathe
- Videos Resources: Helping Babies Breathe
- Questions to Ponder and Explore
- Resources for this Module
- Session 3 Zoom Call
- RECORDING: Session 3 Zoom Call
- Newborn First Breaths: Protecting the First Moments of Life with Elder Midwife Sister Morningstar
- Womb meditation (12:44)
- Introduction to this Module (19:38)
- An Introduction to the HMS (BAB) algorithms
- Main Causes of Bleeding After Birth
- Active Management of the Third Stage of Labour
- Physiological Birth of the Placenta (And What Happens When we Interrupt it) (26:22)
- Examining the Placenta (4:28)
- Retained Placenta and Manual Removal of the Placenta (demo) (14:37)
- Underlying Causes of Bleeding (20:22)
- Blood Loss - how much is too much? (11:55)
- Homeopathy and Herbs for Blood Loss
- Bleeding During Labour (9:53)
- Don't Manage the Third Stage of Labour! - Michel Odent
- Bleeding After Birth - Spiritual Midwifery
- Birth of the Placenta and Bleeding - The Hesperian Foundation
- Taking Care of the Third Stage of Labour - Valerie El Halta
- The Third Stage, placenta and PPH - H&H
- Retained Placenta and Bleeding - Susan Weed
- Traditional Chinese Medicine for Hemorrhage - Valerie Appleton
- How to Give Rectal Fluids and Treat a Woman for Shock - Hesperian Foundation
- HMS (BAB) Glossary
- Video Resources: Bleeding After Birth (33:15)
- Questions to Ponder and Explore
- Resources for this Module
- Session 4 Zoom call
- RECORDING: Session 4 Zoom Call
- Introduction to Shoulder Dystocia (16:52)
- Words of Wisdom from Michel Odent
- Shoulder Dystocia Stories (32:03)
- Introduction to Gaskin Manoevre and Flip FLOP
- Gaskin Manoevre and Flip FLOP demonstrations (15:02)
- McRoberts Manoeuvre (4:02)
- Shoulder Dystocia - Heart and Hands
- Resources for Shoulder Dystocia
- Hoponopono (6:56)
- Introduction to Module 6
- Asking for Help...
- Holding Death as Birthkeepers
- Holding Grief and Loss as Birthkeepers (188:54)
- Death and Disability
- Born Still - A Mother's Experience (22:18)
- How Grief can be Assisted - Mama Bamba
- How do we Honour Ourselves in this Work?
- Nature as medicine
- In Closing...
- Resources for this module
Birth First Aid testimonial
Student midwife Beth shares her experience of attending the Birth First Aid course
